Red Skull
: "A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones... I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here, guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess." : ― Red Skull to Thanos Johann Schmidt is the current head of HYDRA-Abteilung, a special weapons division of the Nazi Schutzstaffel and the modern-day incarnation of the ancient HYDRA society. A brilliant scientist in his own right, he fought his way through the ranks of Nazi elite to become a confidant of Adolf Hitler himself. However, his ambition to become the superior man led him to test an imperfect version of the Super Soldier Serum on himself which transformed him into the horrifying Red Skull. After gaining possession of the mystical Tesseract and its unimaginable power, he decided to turn his back on the Third Reich and rule the world alone. However, as World War II raged, his plans would be challenged by the only Allied super soldier, Captain America. In 1945 Schmidt launched his offensive, intending to bring the United States to its knees, but he was intercepted by Captain America and vanished when he touched the Tesseract with his bare hands. Schmidt was transported to Vormir, where he became trapped in a state of purgatory, becoming the Stonekeeper, a wraith who advises those who seek the Soul Stone. After over seventy years on Vormir, Schmidt met Thanos and Gamora, who were seeking the stone. He led them to it, and disappeared after Thanos sacrificed his daughter and claimed the stone. With Thanos successfully obtaining the stone, Schmidt's curse was broken, and he was free to leave Vormir and pursue his own goals once more. During the Time Heist in 2023, two surviving Avengers of the Decimation, Black Widow and Hawkeye, attempted to retrieve the Soul Stone from Vormir in 2014 as Schmidt approached them. Schmidt watched as the two Avengers duelled each other and disappeared after Romanoff sacrificed herself, letting Barton to claim the Stone. With Barton successfully obtaining the stone, Schmidt's curse was broken, and was free to leave Vormir, thus creating an alternate timeline. However, after the Reversal of the Decimation and the Battle of Earth, Captain America travelled back in time to return the Soul Stone, erasing the alternate timeline and forcing Schmidt to become its guardian once again before Thanos could claim the stone in the original timeline. Schmidt returned to Earth and became disillusioned with the world around him. Upon the discovery that Captain America still lived, Schmidt established a new HYDRA cell with the goal of defeating the Avengers and restoring the organisation to its former glory. Biography Early Life Obsession with Power Johann Schmidt was born in a small town in northern Germany. He was a smart student and eventually became a physicist. Over the years, he became interested in Norse mythology. He developed a theory that Norse gods and their "magic" could be more than a myth. Eventually, he became a member of HYDRA, an ancient society that followed a political doctrine, but once worshipped a powerful Inhuman; this past belief being very kindred to Schmidt's theories. He became a follower of a principle that the ultimate power was not of this world. Joining the SS In February 1934, at the Deutsches Opernhaus in Berlin, Schmidt met Adolf Hitler, the Führer of Nazi Germany, the Third Reich. With him was Ernst Kaufmann, head of the Sturmabteilung (SA)'s Special Weapons Division. Schmidt revealed his theory that magic could be “the oldest science ever known” to them. Hitler was intrigued by Schmidt's ideas, but Kaufmann was less impressed. Nevertheless, Hitler ordered Kaufmann to arrange a meeting between him and Schmidt. But, when Hitler left the scene, Kaumfann and his men took Schmidt from the opera. Schmidt offered to conduct research in Kaufmann's special weapons division but was violently rejected. Kaufmann threatened to kill Schmidt if he came near Hitler again. But when Kaufmann and his men returned to the opera, Schmidt was approached by Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the elite Nazi paramilitary unit that served as Hitler's bodyguard. Himmler was interested in Schmidt's ideas and recruited him into the SS. Head of HYDRA In June 1934, as part of the Night of the Long Knives, Schmidt assassinated Kaufmann and seized control of his weapons program. A week later, Schmidt and his SS troops attacked the SA Weapons Testing Ground at Kummersdorf, 46km south of Berlin. After killing almost the entire personnel of the base, Schmidt found and recruited Arnim Zola, a scientist who worked on the advanced exo-skeleton battle armour. Eventually, Schmidt rose to the rank of Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant general), and formed his own branch of the SS, naming it HYDRA-Abteuilung. In September 1935, the German biochemist Abraham Erskine attempted to flee Germany with his family. His wife's father was a Jew and Erskine wanted to take his family to safety. They were stopped at the Germany/Switzerland border by Schmidt and his men. Schmidt wanted Erskine's work on ways to increase the molecular density of cellular fibres through synthetic proteins. In order to ensure Erskine's cooperation, Schmidt sent Erskine's wife Greta and his children Klaus and Marlene to the Dachau concentration camp. Arnim Zola was allowed to resume his work on exoskeleton battle suits and various high-tech weaponry. Two years later, Erskine's wife and children died in the camp, but Schmidt never revealed that information to Erskine. World War II Becoming the Red Skull In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, thus starting World War II. Schmidt actively participated in German conquests, earning several high military decorations, including the Panzer Badge and the Iron Cross First Class, and may have also suffered a wound during combat to merit him the Wound Badge which he wore on his own SS uniform. In 1940, Schmidt had learned that, at long last, the first, unstable version of Abraham Erskine's Super Soldier Serum was now finished, which Schmidt had desired for himself. However, despite Schmidt's orders and even the threat of execution, Erskine refused to hand it over to Schmidt. In the end, Schmidt took the Super Soldier Serum by force and, at Castle Kaufmann in the Bavarian Alps, Schmidt then injected himself in order to get superpowers. The serum was supposed to make him faster, stronger, and agiler. However, the process came with side effects and rendered Schmidt with a red deformed face. Though he adopted a synthetic mask that resembled his former appearance to disguise the new deformity, he gained the nickname "Red Skull". Erskine fled and sought refuge in the United States with the help of Peggy Carter and joined the Strategic Scientific Reserve in order to continue his own research and aid the allies throughout the continued war. As compensation, Adolf Hitler gave Schmidt a new base in the Alps, which became the headquarters of HYDRA, working on weapons for the Third Reich. However, Schmidt saw his new post more as an exile than as a reward. He continued his research into the occult and developed a sense that HYDRA had become superior to the Nazis and sought to find a weapon that would overthrow Hitler. Schmidt searched for the Darkhold, but he never managed to find it. Finding the Tesseract Schmidt shared in Adolf Hitler's passion for occult power, although Schmidt's belief in it proved stronger than Hitler's as his obsession with understanding his own power grew. Researching history to find the greatest weapon known to mankind, Schmidt learned of the Tesseract, which was lost on Earth having been held in Odin's Vault. Believing it to not be a myth, he began searching for it, knowing it would give him the power to defeat both Hitler and the Allies. In March 1942, following a possible lead as to the location of their ultimate weapon, Schmidt led his army as they invaded Tønsberg, Norway, searching for the Tesseract. Upon entering a church with his large army led by his HYDRA Uber Tanks, Schmidt ordered his men to demolish the door of an ancient church where they encountered the Church Keeper, who bravely refused to submit to them, despite witnessing the death of Jan during the attack. When his soldiers tried to find it for him, Schmidt, after seeing that his soldiers were unable to move the marble coffin's heavy lid off, proceeded to shove the lid effortlessly and found what appeared to be the Tesseract, taken from the grave of an ancient dead soldier. However Schmidt knew it to be a fake and calmly smashed the glass cube across the ground, noting that while it had been kept in Asgard, the Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's Vault and was not the sort of item that would be buried inside of a grave, although he remained convinced that the true Tesseract was still undoubtedly close to their location, questioning the Church Keeper over this. Unwilling to leave without his prize, Schmidt threatened the Church Keeper with the thought of obliterating the village and potentially killing the church keeper's family members, including all his young grandchildren. Fearful of the innocent lives that would be lost, the man finally relented and Schmidt found the true Tesseract in a wall which depicted Yggdrasil and the Nine Realms. Opening the box, Schmidt was amazed by his own discovery at long last. Ignoring the Keeper's warnings that the Tesseract would destroy him as it was not for the eyes of ordinary men, Schmidt was told that he would burn if he tried to use it. Recalling using the Super Soldier Serum designed by Abraham Erskine which had given him his secret Red Skull, Schmidt told the man that he already had burned and shot and killed the church keeper before giving the order to destroy the entire village, walking away with his greatest weapon. Containing the Tesseract Having finally gained the Tesseract, Schmidt returned to his HYDRA Headquarters and gave the object to Arnim Zola, his chief scientist, for examination. During a test to see if its power could be harnessed, Zola hesitated due to fear of losing control. Schmidt, however, did not want to be cautious ignored the warnings and proceeded to overload the machine, causing it to break, but not before capturing just a small dose of the Tesseract's power in their machine. Zola then realised that just the very small amount of energy they had captured could power the entire facility and help them build weapons powerful enough to change the war and allow Nazi Germany to at last defeat the United States of America and claim victory. Seeing this, however, Schmidt had other ideas knew HYDRA now had the power to overthrow Adolf Hitler so Schmidt could take control and rule the world as the leader of HYDRA's superpower. Betraying Adolf Hitler Schmidt, having discovered Abraham Erskine's location, dispatched an assassin to kill him. He then informed Zola of this. As Schmidt was in the middle of being painted while unmasked. In America, Erskine subjected Steve Rogers to the Project Rebirth, transforming him into an incredibly strong and powerful soldier, but Schmidt's assassin, Heinz Kruger, managed to kill Erskine and destroy the Allies' complete supply of the serum before committing suicide. When SS officers Roeder, Schneider, and Hutter came to Schmidt's base under Adolf Hitler's orders to question him about the progress in developing advanced weapons for the Third Reich, Schmidt showed them around his headquarters. When Schneider commented on Hitler's lack of approval towards HYDRA and insulted Schmidt by using his hated nickname Red Skull, Schmidt made his decision to kill them all and finally cut all ties with the Nazi party. Schmidt took all the officers to see his Tesseract-powered weapons, explaining he had harnessed the power of the gods, with Schneider calling him a madman. Schmidt however continued as he told them that Hitler was talking of the thousand years Reich under the control of the Nazis but was failing to deliver or even protect his own men and therefore he would use the power of Asgard to achieve victory. But when Hutter saw Berlin marked as one of Schmidt's targets on a map, Schmidt vaporised them all with his advanced cannon, taking personal pleasure as Roeder screamed in utter terror during his final seconds before being completely vaporised into nothing. At that moment, Schmidt definitely turned his back to Hitler and the Nazi cause as he felt that HYDRA could grow no more in Hitler's shadow; he then had his men shout "Hail HYDRA!" to show their loyalty to him. Arnim Zola was horrified but still remained loyal to Schmidt and gave the salute. Schmidt smiled upon seeing his men's unwavering loyalty to him before calmly walking away to continue in his quest to take complete control of the entire world. With HYDRA now self-funded, Schmidt and Arnim Zola explored their Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility where prisoners of war were being forced to build the new Tesseract-powered weapons. Despite the progress of the workers being high, Schmidt ordered that they increase their workload by an exceptional amount, when Zola then warned that increased workload would kill the men, Schmidt was not concerned, noting they could always get more workers. Encounter with Captain America In November 1943, Schmidt's Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility was invaded by Captain America, who came to free his friend Bucky Barnes and the other P.O.W.s. Schmidt watched the carnage on a monitor when all the prisoners were freed and attacked Schmidt's forces. Schmidt watched closely as Captain America overpowered his soldiers with ease. When a huge battle occurred, Schmidt activated the bases self-destruct, despite Arnim Zola's protests as he did not want his research to be destroyed. With only minutes to go until the base exploded, Arnim Zola ran to his lab to collect his documents detailing his weapon designs while Schmidt collected the Tesseract. Without touching the immensely powerful item, Schmidt placed it into a briefcase and regrouped with Zola. As they made their way to the exit, the self-destruct on the base was activated and much of the powerful machinery inside the base began to explode one by one, causing the floor of the base to erupt in unstoppable flames, killing anyone left nearby. As Schmidt and Zola were about to leave, Captain America and Bucky Barnes confronted them. Schmidt mocked the Captain, noting that he had seen and enjoyed the propaganda films he had starred in. Ignoring the taunts, Captain America punched Schmidt in the face, ripping his mask. To show Rogers they were both test subjects, Schmidt punched and made a dent in Rogers' shield before they engaged in a brief but highly violent fist fight. Arnim Zola separated the two super soldiers and Schmidt revealed to Captain America that he believed he was Abraham Erskine's greatest success before ripping off his damaged face mask to show him what the serum did to his face. While Rogers and Barnes were stunned by the hideous reveal, Schmidt threw his mask into the fire and told him he was deluded in believing he was a simple soldier as they had left humanity behind and he had embraced this change proudly. As he left the pair to die in the fire, Rogers called out to him to ask if he was without fear why was he running, but Schmidt ignored the taunt as he believed they would both be dead soon while he would be able to get away. Schmidt revealed his intention to escape in a one-man Focke-Wulf Triebflügel, but when Zola questioned how he would escape as well, Schmidt reluctantly handed him the keys to his own car and ordered him to drive it out of the danger without scratching it, something Zola agreed to without hesitation as he had secretly always wanted to drive the impressive car. Red Skull was able to fly his ship out of danger and regrouped with the forces of HYDRA back at his HYDRA Headquarters. Despite the HYDRA base exploding shortly after their escape, both Rogers and Barnes managed to escape themselves and returned to the United States Armed Forces where they now planned to bring the fight to HYDRA. Knowing that Rogers and the U.S. army were after him, Schmidt decided to now accelerate all of his plans. Losing the War Unfortunately for Schmidt, Captain America memorised the locations of all HYDRA bases which he saw on a map in Schmidt's base in Austria. He and the Howling Commandos began to take all of them down. The Allies progressively managed to destroy most major HYDRA operations, preventing Schmidt any chance to move forward with his plans. Schmidt then placed Zola in charge of halting Captain America and his allies' assaults on HYDRA bases but the scientist was unable to do so. The more HYDRA facilities that were destroyed, the angrier and more deranged Schmidt became. In April 1944, Schmidt was within a castle on an island in the Nazi-occupied Danish Straits. There, he studied a mystical Viking Runestone. However, Rogers and the Howling Commandos invaded the castle. Schmidt attempted to destroy them but they survived. Schmidt explored the ruins of one of his destroyed bases. Furious, he screamed at his soldiers and threatened Arnim Zola to continue his work before Captain America could defeat them. When one HYDRA survivor appeared and begged for forgiveness, Schmidt shot him without mercy. At the same time, Schmidt had his top scientist make nuclear bombs powered by the Tesseract. No one knew about his plans until Rogers captured Zola and he revealed Schmidt's plans. In the meantime, a HYDRA General, Werner Reinhardt, was sent to search for legendary artifacts. Reinhardt's team was able to discover the Obelisk in Chaves, Portugal. When Reinhardt showed the artifact to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself. With Arnim Zola now captured by the Allies and key intel about his plans having been leaked to his enemies, Schmidt moved his plans forward and gathered his army in the HYDRA Headquarters. Schmidt had the Tesseract-powered nuclear bombs loaded the Valkyrie, ready to be launched. Schmidt gave a speech to his soldiers in which he promised they would stand triumphant before repeating the HYDRA motto and watching as all of his soldiers saluted him. Attack on HYDRA Headquarters In March 1945, the United States Armed Forces bravely attacked the HYDRA Headquarters, which made Schmidt accelerate his plans. After a brief battle with Schmidt's soldiers which killed many HYDRA soldiers, his men had successfully captured Captain America. Rogers was brought before Schmidt to be questioned and later executed by him personally, which delighted Red Skull. When Schmidt asked Rogers what made him so special that Abraham Erskine had given him so much, Rogers answered that it was nothing, he was just a kid from Brooklyn. This mockery angered Schmidt, who punched Rogers several times, causing Rogers to drop to his knees. Schmidt prepared to execute Rogers but at the same moment, the Allied troops under Colonel Chester Phillips, Agent Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos stormed the HYDRA Headquarters and fired upon Schmidt and his soldiers. During the chaos, Schmidt then escaped while Captain America was rescued and reunited with his own shield. During the fight, Schmidt picked up a Tesseract-powered gun and used it to then kill several American soldiers before the overwhelming forces pushed him back. Schmidt stayed ahead of Captain America and fired several shots at him, all of which were deflected on his shield. While Schmidt's own soldier held Rogers back, Schmidt ran to the Valkyrie. The Last Fight When he saw that his men could not stop the overwhelming enemy force, he retreated to his plane where he locked away the Tesseract and prepared to initiate his attack on the United States. During the launch, Red Skull noticed that Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter had taken his car and were chasing him down across the runway, allowing Captain America to get onboard the plane just moments before it took off. Having taken out his guards, Rogers climbed on the outside of one of the HYDRA Parasit and threw out the pilot before taking control of it himself. Schmidt had tried and failed to shoot him out of the sky but Rogers managed to dodge the shots before crash landing the bomb back into the plane; he got out and made his way into the cockpit where he confronted Schmidt. However, refusing to be defeated, Red Skull prepared himself to finally kill his greatest enemy. While Captain America explored the cockpit with his shield raised, Schmidt waited for him to walk carefully over to the plane's controls while he was searching for him before Schmidt attempted to shoot him in the back with a HYDRA Assault Rifle. However, Rogers just heard the gun charging up and was able to deflect the shot just in time. With one of the plane's windows now shattered, the frustrated Schmidt then mocked Rogers' constant refusal to give up. They engaged in a fist fight with Schmidt gaining the upper hand by taking Rogers' shield and striking him with it. Landing several other body shots as well due to his previous excessive combat experience as he furiously attempted to defeat Captain America once and for all. When the pair crashed into the controls, the plane spiralled out of control and the pair continued to fight while they were thrown across the room, with Schmidt able to kick Rogers across the plane. Schmidt managed to regain control of the ship and he and Rogers were separated. Schmidt managed to reach his gun and fired at Rogers who took cover while attempting to regain his shield. As the Red Skull continued firing his HYDRA Pistol at the super soldier, he began mocking him that he could have had the power of the gods, and claiming that HYDRA would create a future where there were no flags and HYDRA would rule everything without challenge. Captain America defiantly told Red Skull this would not be his future and managed to avoid his continued shots before he threw his shield at Schmidt with great force, knocking him back and also managing to damage the Tesseract Cradle which was containing the Tesseract. In the panic of the moment, Schmidt grabbed the Tesseract, but to his horror, the object then opened a portal and launched Schmidt into it. Schmidt could only scream in pain and rage as he watched the flesh from his hand burning away before he disappeared inside the portal, vanishing from the face of the Earth seemingly forever. HYDRA's Legacy Believing that Schmidt had been killed by the Tesseract, Captain America informed Peggy Carter and the Strategic Scientific Reserve that the Red Skull had died. Following the news of Schmidt's demise being made public, the world believed HYDRA had died alongside him, although Arnim Zola and Werner Reinhardt, two of Schmidt's loyal HYDRA followers, continued to lead the group. Reinhardt was arrested shortly after Schmidt's disappearance while Zola, who had been recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. through Operation Paperclip, ensured HYDRA's existence as a secret organisation hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. Under Zola's leadership, the group flourished, infiltrating pivotal ranks in society and secretly shaping historical events for fifty years. The Stonekeeper Protecting the Soul Stone Despite what everyone on Earth believed, Schmidt didn't perish from the Tesseract. Instead, he was teleported to the planet Vormir, the home of the Soul Stone, as punishment for his abuse of the Space Stone's power. Due to being trapped by himself, Schmidt was unable to take control of the Stone for himself and the Stone cursed him into becoming its guardian for over seven decades, rendering him unable to escape the planet. As he was forced to advise seekers of the Stone, Schmidt had to tell them about what price they needed to pay to obtain it as well as making him immortal and able to immediately tell who came to Vormir. Condemned to a fate he considered a curse, Schmidt eventually accepted his fate, and came to see himself as a ghost of his former self. Advising Thanos In 2018, when Thanos and his adoptive daughter Gamora arrived at Vormir, they were welcomed by Schmidt, who knew about their identities and their pasts thanks to his new abilities. Once Thanos had told him about seeking the Stone, Schmidt told him that it extracts a price to which Thanos had came to prepare. Schmidt then expressed that's what the seekers were thinking only to been proven wrong. Escorting his guest, Schmidt then explained that he had once held one the stones and cast him out into Vormir, protecting the Stone. Schmidt explained that in order to obtain the Stone Thanos must require to have him sacrifice the life of someone he loved. Is Gamora knew that Thanos hated everyone in the galaxy, much to her laughter. Schmidt prompted that Thanos will sadly sacrifice Gamora in order to obtain the Soul Stone. Said and done, Thanos subdued Gamora as she attempted to commit suicide and then reluctantly threw her off the cliff to her demise. With Gamora dead, Thanos was given the Soul Stone for the Infinity Gauntlet. Once Thanos gained possession of the Stone, Schmidt's curse was broken, liberated from his duty and free to pursue his personal ambitions. Time Heist In 2023, after discovering a method to traverse through time safely, Black Widow and Hawkeye were sent nine years into the past to 2014 in order to retrieve the Soul Stone. Using the Benatar, the pair flew to Vormir, where they encountered Schmidt, greeting them by referring to their names and mentioning their parents, and then proceeded to explain them that the Soul Stone demanded a sacrifice. Horrified, Barton initially dismissed Schmidt's warning as a lie to trick them into fighting to the death, but Romanoff made him realize that it was indeed true, because Thanos went with Gamora to Vormir but she never returned from there. Realising that one of them had to die to ensure the reversal of the Decimation, both Avengers started to fight to decide who would die while Schmidt watched emotionless. Though insisting Romanoff that he would do it and asking her to greet his family, victims of the Decimation, on his regard, Barton was ultimately able to jump off the cliff only to be stopped by Romanoff, who let go from his hand to fall to her death, sacrificing herself in the process and allowing Barton to take the Soul Stone to the future, yet bitter and angry for Romanoff's suicide. With Barton obtaining the Soul Stone, Schmidt was freed from his curse to guard the powerful artifact four years earlier than Thanos liberated him in the original timeline, allowing him to leave Vormir to pursue his own goals. Following Thanos' defeat, Steve Rogers travelled into the past to put the Stones back where they belonged in a way that their disappearance would not even be noticed. Rogers brought the Soul Stone back to Vormir,17 where he decided not to fight Schmidt and placed the Soul Stone back to its location, as it was his mission to return the Stone where it belonged. The HYDRA Regime To be added Powers and Abilities Super Soldier Serum * Artificially Enhanced Physiology: As a result of the formula developed by Abraham Erskine, Schmidt was horribly disfigured, but also obtained incredible attributes, such as an enormous strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes. In addition, his intelligence was also increased, allowing him to become a mastermind of warfare. Like Captain America, the Red Skull’s physiology has been enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, pushing into the early levels of superhuman condition, leading him to refer to himself to Captain Rogers as "Eriskine's greatest success". ** Enhanced Intelligence: Schmidt's intelligence is enhanced to peak performance. He's shown himself to be a formidable researcher and scientist since he was able to distinguish truth from myths concerning ancient and powerful relics. Schmidt's investigations were able to find the Tesseract and the Runestone, and with his genius invented ways to harness their power to enhance his weapons of mass destruction. The only mythical object he wasn't able to find was the Darkhold. He was also smart enough to quickly deduce that the "Tesseract" inside the coffin was actually a decoy, though it was nonetheless in fairly close proximity. Since the Super Soldier Serum amplifies personality aspects as well, Schmidt's brain chemistry is also altered. Though he was megalomaniacal, wrathful, and pitiless before, the serum has also amplified those character traits. ** Enhanced Strength: Schmidt's strength was enhanced to an early level of superhuman potential. He was able to move a giant stone casket lid by himself with little effort, after three normal men could barely make it budge. He was also able to lift a giant wardrobe over his head and threw it dozens of feet away, and this happened just a few days after he received the serum. His punches were shown to be capable of denting Captain America's original metal shield and also capable of holding his own and hurting Captain America, despite his similar super soldier enhanced body. ** Enhanced Durability: While fighting Captain America, Schmidt was shown to be able to quickly recover from blows received from his opponent. He can also survive in the cold climates of Vormir. ** Enhanced Speed: The Super Soldier Serum gave Schmidt enhanced speed, allowing him to land punches on the also enhanced Captain America before Captain America's enhanced reflexes could respond. ** Enhanced Agility: Schmidt was shown to be an agile hand-to-hand combatant while engaged in a one on one battle with Captain America. Though Schmidt prefers to shoot at Captain America from a distance, Red Skull has been known to lunge great distances at a stunned Captain America when the opportunity arises. ** Enhanced Stamina: Schmidt is more resilient to fatigue and exhaustion, allowing him to fight and exert himself for long periods without strain or weakness, even while fighting Captain America, who sent him flying through the air. ** Regenerative Healing Factor: Schmidt's advanced metabolism increases his resilience, as well as increasing his recovery and healing speed. Soul Stone's Guardian As the Stonekeeper, Schmidt possess some supernatural abilities which are derived form his role as the Stonekeeper. * Immortality: Upon becoming a Stonekeeper, Schmidt gained immortality. In his stay on Vormir, Schmidt claimed to have lived over a lifetime, looking the same as he did in 1945. Schmidt has lived as the Stonekeeper for a very long time on an abandoned realm without any form of additional sustenance. * Levitation: As a Stonekeeper, Schmidt possessed the power of levitation, hovering above the ground while greeting Thanos and Gamora. * Omniscience: As a Stonekeeper, Schmidt can gain insight into anyone who seeks the Soul Stone. He was able to know Black Widow's father's name, even though she was unaware of his name. He also knows every necessary and trivial knowledge about the Infinity Stones. Abilities * Master Tactician: As the leader of HYDRA, Schmidt was in command of all the organisations soldiers and led them in many operations during World War II. Many of which had successful outcomes. Being the head of HYDRA, he usually is most suited for combat. Both with the HYDRA division and as a single man going toe to toe with Captain America. The Red Skull has managed to orchestrate the assassinations of his enemies such as Ernst Kaufmann and Abraham Erskine, manipulated his way to power, and led HYDRA in planning an offensive that would have devastated the world's most influential countries had Captain America not interfered. * Expert Marksman: Schmidt was an expert marksman, being able to use many of the weaponry engineered by HYDRA, and was especially skilled with his German sidearm. He shot and killed the Church Keeper with a single round. * Expert Combatant: Schmidt was very proficient in unarmed combat. He was able to go toe-to-toe with Captain America and briefly gained the upper hand. * Expert Scientist: Acknowledged by Erskine himself as a brilliant scientist, Schmidt was put by Hitler in charge of the Nazi science division HYDRA-Abteilung. Schmidt used his scientific talents and knowledge of the occult to research the Tesseract and, though others considered it a myth, Schmidt was able to find it. * Pilot: Schmidt was an accomplished pilot, using a Focke-Wulf Triebflügel to escape from the Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility before its destruction, and personally piloting the Valkyrie to attack the United States of America. * Bilingualism: He speaks his native German and he is also fluent in English, albeit with a German accent. Equipment Weapons * Luger P08: Schmidt was armed with the standard Luger P08 pistol used by members of the armed forces of Nazi Germany. He used it to personally kill a Church Keeper in Tønsberg right after obtaining the Tesseract. * HYDRA Pistol: Under Schmidt's leadership, HYDRA was able to harness the power of the Tesseract, gaining access to a source of energy the like of which has never be seen, and used it to implement his weapons. HYDRA developed a Tesseract-powered handgun with a design similar to the Luger pistol that became Schmidt's weapon of choice. * HYDRA Assault Rifle: During the Attack on HYDRA Headquarters, Schmidt witnessed the Allied forces blasting open the main doors, killing his men. To defend himself, Schmidt picked up a Tesseract powered Assault Rifle and killed several soldiers as they entered before he was forced to escape. * HYDRA Cannon: Having become annoyed at the insults levelled at him by Adolf Hitler's officers, Schmidt activated a Cannon powered by the Tesseract and killed Roeder along with Schneider and Hutter. Other Equipment * Uniform: Before and during the first years of World War II, Schmidt used an official black SS uniform, wearing the rank insignia of Obergruppenführer. He wore three military decorations on the left side of the uniform, the Panzer Badge, the Wound Badge, and the Iron Cross First Class. Over the uniform, he wore the black leather coat with the HYDRA badge on the left side of the collar. His officer cap also had the HYDRA badge instead of the SS Totenkopf badge. From 1943 on, he wore the unique green uniform with the HYDRA insignia on the upper parts of the sleeves. In March 1945, he briefly wore a unique black uniform while piloting the Valkyrie. * Prosthetic Mask: Following his disfigurement due to taking an early version of the Super Soldier Serum, Schmidt attempted to hide his hideous burns underneath a Prosthetic Mask which had resembled his true face before the disfigurement. During his first encounter with Captain America, Schmidt's mask was damaged from being punched in the face, leading to him then ripping it off and throwing the mask into a fire. * Tesseract: Seeking the ultimate power to help HYDRA claim their victory in World War II and then take control of the world, Schmidt sought and eventually found the Tesseract. With the assistance of Arnim Zola, Schmidt discovered how to transfer the incredible amounts of energy that was held inside of the Tesseract into their HYDRA weaponry, giving them strength far beyond that of their enemies. Schmidt had intended to use the Tesseract to cause mass destruction, but during his final clash against Captain America, the Tesseract had become exposed and, as Schmidt picked it up to examine it, the power of the Tesseract shot him through space to Vormir, where he remained trapped for decades. * Soul Stone: Having been trapped on Vormir, Red Skull was tasked with safeguarding the Soul Stone, while learning the wisdom held within it which had allowed Red Skull to know of any individual coming to try and claim it. Red Skull taught Thanos and Gamora what they needed to do to claim the Infinity Stone and then watched emotionless as Thanos chose to sacrifice his own daughter to take the Stone for himself. Vehicles * Coupe: Schmidt owns his own vehicle, a coupe, which he had proceeded to drive to several various locations during World War II, including to Norway where Schmidt had finally managed to track down the Tesseract. Schmidt once allowed Arnim Zola to hide the coupe to escape certain death, before driving the Coupe to the HYDRA facilities which were all being destroyed one by one by Captain America and his allies. * Focke-Wulf Triebflügel: During his escape from the Austrian HYDRA Weapons Facility, Red Skull used his private rocket plane to get away before he could be captured by Captain America and the Allies. * Valkyrie: For his final schemes for destroying much of the known world, the Red Skull personally flew his advanced bomber plane armed with HYDRA Parasits which would bomb the Allied countries. However, before he could complete his plans, Captain America confronted Red Skull as he was forced to abandon the controls to fight against the Captain, resulting in Red Skull being teleported to Vormir. Relationships Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Villains Category:HYDRA Leaders Category:Nazi Germany Armed Forces Officers